Jayavarman VI

Jayavarman VI (Khmer: ជ័យវរ្ម័នទី៦) was king of the Khmer Empire from about 1080 to 1107 AD.

During the reigns of Udayadityavarman II and Harshavarman III there were some internal rebellions and an unsuccessful war with Champa.^[1] Maybe the last one continued to reign in Angkor during a revolt which finally brought to power the following official King, Jayavarman VI, probably a vassal prince.^{[2]:376–377}

Coming from Phimai area, in Mun River Valley, he appears as an usurper and the founder of a new dynasty, the Mahidharapura,^[3] from the name of his family's ancestral home. In inscriptions at the beginning of his reign, he claimed to be a descendant of the mythical couple of prince Sage Kambu Swayambhuva and his sister (and wife) Mera,^[4]:66[5] rather than having real ancestors of royal lineage.

Jayavarman VI was probably engaged for several years in strife against those who remained loyal to the legitimate line of Harshavarman III and his heir Nripatindravarman which may have reigned in Angkor until 1113.^[4]:153

However he's generally given credit for the construction of Phimai temple. He was succeeded by his elder brother, Dharanindravarman I, and received as posthumous name Paramakaivalyapada.^[4]:153

Footnotes

1. Higham, 2003, pp.91-107
2. Higham, C., 2014, Early Mainland Southeast Asia, Bangkok: River Books Co., Ltd., ISBN 9786167339443
3. Coedès, George (1929). "Nouvelles données chronologiques et généalogiques sur la dynastie de Mahidharapura" (PDF). BEFEO (in French) (29): 289–330. Retrieved 2009-08-13.
4. Coedès, George (1968). Walter F. Vella, ed. The Indianized States of Southeast Asia. trans.Susan Brown Cowing. University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 978-0-8248-0368-1.
5. Jacobsen, 2008, pp.46-60

References

• Higham, Charles (2003). The Civilization of Angkor. Phoenix. ISBN 1-84212-584-2.

• Coedès, George (1986). Walter F. Vella, ed. The Indianized states of Southeast Asia. trans. Susan Brown Cowing. University of Hawai`i Press. ISBN 978-0-8248-0368-1.

• Jacobsen, Trudy (2008). Lost Goddesses: The Denial of Female Power in Cambodian History. NIAS Press. ISBN 978-87-7694-001-0.